Plot: Bobby (Joaquin Phoenix) has turned his back on the family business, which is the New York City Police Department. Joseph (Mark Wahlberg) is an up-and-coming officer who runs into brother Bobby while working a case. And when Burt (Robert Duvall), their legendary father and police chief, enters the mix the family is once again forced together during the escalating drug problems of the 1980s. Who’s it for: Fans of the 2000 film “The Yards.” Phoenix and Wahlberg star and James Gray wrote and directed it as well.

Expectations: Something didn’t feel right going into this one. I’m a fan of all three actors, but I just wasn’t jazzed to sit through this film. Maybe it was just because I returned from a vacation in Hawaii.

SCORECARD

Actors: Joaquin Phoenix as Bobby: For a while I thought Phoenix was channeling some De Niro bravado as Bobby, but I don’t think De Niro ever mumbled this much. He is kind of the bad seed of the family, but really it seems he just wants to manage a nightclub and do a little drugs. Too bad all hell breaks loose. Grade: 6

Mark Wahlberg as Joseph: Straight-laced Joseph is the good seed (if Bobby is the bad). But Wahlberg seems to be the downfall here. We never get a sense of the family when they were younger, so we don’t really know what to make of how Joseph and Bobby feel about each other until well into the film. Plus, Wahlberg isn’t even in the film that much. Grade: 4

Robert Duvall as Burt: Not many can pull off the name Burt. Duvall can. He is supposed to be the emotion center of the film, going back and forth between love and respect with his sons, the problem is, only half the scenes work. Grade: 5

Talking: Duvall utters, “When you piss in your pants you can only stay warm for so long.” So there are pearls of wisdom to be had here. Grade: 7

Sights and sounds: The club offers some ’80s hits, which is always a plus. But the oddest part of the movie was inserting real-life former mayor Ed Koch, and giving him some digital effects to help his aging. Very odd. Grade: 5

OVERALL “We Own the Night” takes the title from the motto of the NYPD during the drug wars of the late 1980s. But this film is really all about the Grusinky family. It’s a roller coaster, mainly because a good scene is typically followed by a bad one. For every thrill, there is a melodramatic moment that just doesn’t work. The best part of the film is you really don’t know what will happen next, so while it definitely stays interesting, it doesn’t hit enthralling. Director James Gray has his moments, such as a tense car chase, I just never felt the family relationship.

Overall Grade: 6